SUGAR ProgramSemester

☒ Autumn 2021☒ Spring 2022

CoordinatorEric Guerci, Associateprofessor, Economic &

management department/Vice President for Student

Entrepreneurship

Silvia Marchini, Innovationdesigner & Open Innovationprogramme coordinator ,ICE

Format/locationClassroom/Campus? Online

synchronous/asynchronous ?Replay available ?

----------------------------------------1 weekly workshop inpresence*1 weekly coaching session inpresence*@Espace Vernassa, Economicsand management campus

Few meetings and visits will

be hosted at the IIT research

centre, either at the branch

involved in this project, which

is located in Turin (Ita), or at

the IIT headquarter in Genoa

(Ita)*.

During the second semester

the students will travel (at

least) once to visit the

university partner team in

Bologna, Italy*.

The final event of the SUGAR

program, in June, will take

place in San Francisco*.

*Changes may occuraccording to the pandemicevolution.

CapacityNumberstudents

2

PrerequisitesSpecify the prerequisites

here or type « Noprerequisites »

--------------------------------------The applicants must possess

a good english proficiency, a

teamwork attitude, a strong

motivation, flexibility,

adaptability, and the will to

venture into different

disciplines.

Lecturer(s)

The Sugar Program is divided in 2 main modules, each of them entails multiple lectures* (see the schedule).

Learning module Lecturer

Design thinking & Service design & innovation projectmanagement

Silvia Marchini, Innovation designer & Open Innovationprogramme coordinator ,ICE

Business & Innovation Eric Guerci, Associate professor, Economic &management department/ Vice President for StudentEntrepreneurship

* The lectures are structured as workshops with a learn-by-doing approach

** Other workshops will be organized according to the specific exigencies of the program with national andinternational experts

Learning Outcomes

Students from different disciplines have the opportunity of practicing their competencies in a real project. They

acquire experience-based knowledge.

● Design thinking proficiency: Design Thinking is the innovation process developed at Stanford, which was

launched by IDEO and has fuelled a large part of the entrepreneurial culture in Silicon Valley. At the heart

of the process is the notion that to innovate, it is necessary to connect with people, understand the real

needs of the user and explore the whole project context with a constant attitude to research, undertaking

a non-linear path characterized by uncertainty and the freedom to make mistakes and create new ideas

● Qualitative research

● Development of a real service system application UX

● Development of a business strategy based on a digital solution

● Development of AI-based functionalities

● Development of a forward-looking data collection and management system

● Competence in presenting and pitching an innovation project.

● Project management (of a real company project)

● Team working

● Stakeholders relationship management

● International relation management

Summary

SUGAR Program- general overview: the SUGAR Innovation program is promoted by SUGAR, a global network that

involves over 20 top-ranked international Universities and over 26 international companies. The SUGAR Network

aims at bridging the gap between academia and industry: corporates propose innovation design challenges and

collaborate with international teams of students to solve them. Each international team is made up of students

coming from two universities from different countries. This year the team from Université Côte D’Azur will

collaborate with the University of Bologna, the corporate partner is the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT).

The teams are supported by innovation coaches as experts in design thinking.

Length: from october 2021 to july 2022

Language: english

Economic contribute: students receive a scholarship of about 2.000/2.500 €Academic accreditation:Since the Sugar programme lasts 9 months, is going to be recognize as a personal project

(6ECTS) and an internship.

The format: The SUGAR Innovation program is an experience based learning path. Students work in a team and

apply their knowledge to real world design challenges.

The program format entails the following activities:

● about 20 workshops targeted for the Université Côte D’Azur students (on Thursday morning) where

students receive theoretical pills which are immediately applied through practical activities.

● local team working sessions (which can be scheduled autonomously by the team members from Université

Côte D’Azur)

● international team working sessions (which are scheduled by the team members from Université Côte

D’Azur and University of Bologna)

● weekly coaching session (scheduled autonomously by the team member and the coach)

● international travels to visit the partners and gather with the network (if allowed by the pandemic).

The Design challenge

The research question posed by the Italian Institute of technology is: “How might we identify an application for

the “Artificial photosynthesis technology” and create a business opportunity based on the digital service system

derived from it?

The project is aimed at identifying possible applications and market opportunities for an innovative technology

capable of converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into chemical energy. This technology is named “Artificial

photosynthesis technology” since its working principle is based on solar energy and recalls the system adopted by

plants to create oxygen from CO2. The project consists in the analysis of the technology abilities and the hypothesis

of several possible application fields which will be therefore tested and iterated until the selection of the final case

to develop. Once the market case is identified, it will be necessary to design the digital service system which allows

stakeholders to interact and control this technology (controlling activity, monitoring activity,information, etc…). The

service system design must take into consideration the future implications of the Artificial photosynthesis

technology in the selected field (ex. which data can be collected to unlock future functions such as data based

process optimization, consumption predictions etc…).

In terms of business development, the technology has to be considered as a whole, together with the digital service

system which makes it usable, designing the strategy to create a startup out of it.

References: https://iris.polito.it/retrieve/handle/11583/2837210/378266/proof.pdf

Schedule

Reminder :Fall semester is from mid-October to mid December. Spring semester is from mid-February to mid-April.Synchronous session MUST be on Thursday mornings.In case of asynchronous courses, live tutorial sessions should be settled on evenings.

13/09-17/09 14/10/2021 h9-12

Team & challenge presentation + desk

research @Espace Vernassa

18/10-22/10 21/10 h9-12

Local Kick-off & Meeting with the

company (+ User needs?)

TBD Genoa - Italian

Institute of Technology

25/10-29/10 28/10 Sugar Global Kick-off (25-28 october) Remote

01/11-05/11

8/11-12/11

15/11-19/11 18/11 h9-12 Insights and Personas @Espace Vernassa

22/11-26/11 25/11 h9-12 Early prototypes @Espace Vernassa

29/11-03/12 02/12 h9-12 Challenge reframe @Espace Vernassa

06/12-10/12 09/12 h9-12 Teamworking @Espace Vernassa

13/12-17/12 16/12 h9-12 Fall presentation & report delivery @Espace Vernassa

Winter Break

03/01-07/01 06/01 h9-12

Solution Space exploration

& Design thinking questionnaire @Espace Vernassa

10/01-14/01 13/01 h9-12 Teamworking @Espace Vernassa

17/01-21/01 20/01 h9-12 Ideation @Espace Vernassa

24/01-28/01 27/01 h9-12 Teamworking @Espace Vernassa

31/01-04/02 03/02 h9-12 Dark horse prototype @Espace Vernassa

07/02-11/02 10/02 h9-12 Teamworking @Espace Vernassa

14/02-18/02

21/02-25/02 24/02 h9-12 Design principles & Vision @Espace Vernassa

28/02-04/03 03/03 h9-12 Teamworking @Espace Vernassa

07/03-11/03 10/03 h9-12

Get ready for your Winter

presentation @Espace Vernassa

14/03-18/03 17/03 h9-12 Winter presentation @Espace Vernassa

21/03-25/03 24/03 h9-12 teamworking and report delivery online

28/03-01/04 31/03 h9-12 Hunting plan @Espace Vernassa

04/04-08/04 07/04 h9-12 Part x is finished prototype @Espace Vernassa

11/04-15/04 14/04 h9-12 Teamworking @Espace Vernassa

18/04-22/04 21/04 h9-12 Business Model Canvas & Strategy @Espace Vernassa

25/04-29/04 28/04 h9-12 Teamworking @Espace Vernassa

02/05-06/05 05/05 h9-12 Refinement @Espace Vernassa

09/05-13/05 12/05 h9-12 Teamworking @Espace Vernassa

16/05-20/05 19/05 h9-12

Get ready for the Final presentation

& Final documentation @Espace Vernassa

23/05-27/05 26/05 h9-12 @Espace Vernassa

30/05-03/06

Full

time

week TBD Expo San Francisco

06/06-10/06

13/06-17/06 TBD possible local final presentation

20/06-24/06

27/06-01/07 Final report deadline

Evaluation

The evaluation of each students is structured as follow:

- 50% individual score which is based on a brief questionnaire about design thinking and a peer to peerevaluation

- 50% group score which is based on the team’s reports and presentations

Type of evaluation Date or Submission deadline Time Location(for on-site exams)

Fall presentation december 16/12/21 9-12 @Espace VernassaFall documentation december 16/12/21 00:00 //Design thinkingquestionnaire

January 03/01/22 9-12 //

Winter presentation march 17/03/22 9-12 @Espace VernassaWinter documentation march 24/03/22 00:00 //Final presentation june 03/06/22 9-18 TBD To Be DefinedFinal documentation july 01/07/2022 00:00 //Peer to peer evaluation July 01/07/2022 00:00 //

Additional Information

Students should consider that the SUGAR program is a unique opportunity to practice their skills in an internationalenvironment and with real stakeholders, within a unique network of prestigious companies and universities. Forthis reason, the commitment required by the program may vary depending on the aptitude of the team and thedevelopment of the project. This is because it is a real project that involves a way of working that is moreprofessional than academic. Participants must therefore be highly motivated, flexible, and adaptable.

SUGAR Program

1

Silvia Marchini

Project

SUGAR Program

Project

Silvia Marchini

Description of the Project

The SUGAR Program is a project where multidisciplinary teams of students work on real company projects in order to develop innovative solutions through the design thinking approach.

Language:English

Length:9 months (not full time)

Format1 weekly workshop + teamwork & coaching

Incentives:international travelsBonus entrepreneur

Location:Nice + international travels

WhoIA2 et Stratégie digitale

Academic accreditation:In semester 3 this project will take the form of a work equivalent to 6 ECTS.

In semester 4, the continuity of this project will replace the end of master internship.

3

SUGAR Program

Challenge"how might

...?"

Innovativesolution

University

University

Company

4

Design thinking

Challenge

Design thinking is the design approach born in the Stanford Design School, which has fueled much of the entrepreneurial culture of Silicon Valley. This approach is human centered because it is based on the concept that real and lasting innovation requires a deep understanding of the context and the needs of the people for whom it is designed. Our process consists of three main stages: Discover (Research), Design, Develop.

Need finding Ideation definition

Solution

5

Design thinking

Brief-challenge:How might we extract value from the data gathered by Bonfiglioli Products according to the customers’ needs in order to develop a range of services that generates new businessopportunities for the company?

Need finding Ideation definition

6

The challenge

Brief-challenge:“How might we identify an application for the “Artificial photosynthesis technology” and create a business opportunity based on the digital service system derived from it?”

Need finding Ideation definition

7

Design thinking

Need finding Ideation DefinitionUser research- desk research- stakeholder map- interviews- observations

Ideation- brainstorming- prototypes- user testing

Definition- prototype definition- solution concept presentation- Business model design & roadmap

8

SUGAR Program

Challenge"how might we enable sustainable

long distancetravelling?

Innovativesolution

University

University

Company

SUGAR Network

250Multicultural & Multidisciplinary Students

26 Universities

15 Different countries

26+Sponsors companies and projects.

50+ professors and coaches

200 Past collaboration with enterprises.

2$+ Millions in project funding

SUGAR Network

10

SUGAR Program

21.10 End of june

25-29Global kick-offonline

30/05-03/06Final Expe San Francisco

University partner visit

DecemberFall presentation & report

MarchWinter presentation & report

JuneFinal presentation& report

SUGAR Program

12

SUGAR Program

9 Good reasons to pick this project

• Learning to innovate with Design Thinking process• A chance to expand your knowledge out of your

regular field of study• Learning and training necessary skills for the future

jobs• Working with an awesome multidisciplinary team• Learning from a coach, researchers & professors

from all over the world• Lectures you’ll immediately put into practice• Deep diving in a specific challenge• Making lots of good friends• Making your mind and your CV shine!

13

SUGAR Program

Who are we looking for?•Master’s degree students from all disciplines and departments•Fluent in English (previous international experience)•Strong team player (Enjoy working in group, previous teamwork experience)•Ambitious & hardworking (Willing to go out of your comfort zone, willing to compromise your Saturday beer to go an extra mile)•Curious & proactive (not waiting a to-do list, able to try, fail, learn and find your way by yourself)

14

SUGAR Program

Commitment• Weekly workshop on Thursday morning• Teamwork and coaching • Availability to travel• Full time commitment during the Global

events

15

SUGAR ProgramApplication procedureSend an e-mail to silvia.marchini@univ-cotedazur.fr by October 3rd 2021.

The mail should contain the following information:

Resume� attach your resume to the e-mail

Link to your self-presentation video*:Create a 2-minute (max) video IN ENGLISH to present yourself :� What’s interesting about you (university path, personal passions)� extracurricular experiences (projects, associations, working experience)� previous teamwork experiences, inside or outside the university.� explain the reason why you would like to join the SUGAR Program.Paste the link** to access the video in the e-mail.

* We don't ask for professional content, just an amateur video covering the points listed above. The video can be recorded with your laptop or smartphone with no post-production activities.**How can you create a link to access your video? You can upload your video on a digital platform such as "Vimeo" or "Youtube" or on a cloud space (like google drive); each platform has its way to create the link to access the video.

SUGAR Network